Entries in Curiosity (3)

Sunday
Jan312016

Here’s a selfie of the Curiosity rover on a Martian dune

This is a selfie we don’t mind seeing. As Curiosity continues to roam the Martian landscape it takes self-portraits along the way. The latest one it captured is at a place called “Namib Dune.” The image above is a composite of 57 images taken on January 19th by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI), which was attached to the end of the rover’s arm (think high-tech selfie stick).

This area is part of the dark sand dune field northwest of Mount Sharp. Curiosity was in the area to collect sand for lab analysis as part of NASA’s plans to study how Martian winds move and get a better picture of the planet’s environment.

Source: NASA | Via: Engadget

Sunday
Dec272015

Curiosity brings Wikipedia article to your current location

Going sightseeing and want to learn something about the area? Curiosity is the app for you. This iOS app makes use of geolocation to share Wikipedia articles with you based on what’s in your area. Of course, you still have to be careful when reading Wikipedia articles but it’s still a good way to learn things about a new place or even your neighbourhood. You can read it immediately or bookmark or share it so you can read it later. The app can also share articles on current issues or trending topics, if you want to stay in the know.

Source: Lifehacker | Download: Apple App Store ($2.29)

Thursday
Aug092012

Video: How Curiosity made it to Mars in one piece 

If you thought Curiosity landing on Mars was pretty cool, check out this video that shows the extreme engineering and incredible planning that went into sending the rover to Mars. What's more, the computer that is running Curiosity is a heavily modified Apple Airport Extreme. That's right, a modified WiFi router! Based off a PowerPC 750 (PowerPC G3) chip clocked at around 200MHz with 256MB RAM topped off with 2GB of flash storage, how brilliant is that.

Source: NASA JPLNews